ICYMI: Reworking the rhetoric as party leaders recycle old campaign themes

Robert Sibley

Updated: August 15, 2015

A supporters shades himself from the spot lights as Conservative Leader Stephen Harper delivers a speech during a rally in Vancouver, B.C. on Tuesday, August 11, 2015. Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press

You’ll be forgiven if you feel you’ve fallen into political time warp after hearing how our political leaders spent the 10th day of the election campaign (yes, we know, it feels much longer). Senate reform, drug laws, tough-on-crime, patronage abuse, etc. And to think there are 68 days to go … Aaaaaah …

Déjà vu all over again?

* Trudeau promises transparency and Senate reform. An end to partisan politics. A curb on patronage. More open government. A reformed Senate. Sound familiar? It should. Conservative leader Stephen Harper swore he’d deliver on such policies way back in the 2006 election (and in every one since). Now Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is making similar promises in the 2015 campaign. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose?

* Stephen Harper says Canadians don’t want marijuana legalized. Pot smoking in petering out in Canada, Stephen Harper suggests, and that’s one reason why he’s not inclined to legalizing marijuana. Indeed, changing the law would reverse the decline and make dope more readily available to the kids. “We just think that’s the wrong direction for society and I don’t think that’s the way most Canadians want to deal with this particular problem.” Stick that in your pipe, Mr. Trudeau.

* Tories revive ‘Voter Outreach Centre’ name for election calls. No, you’re not having a memory flashback. Telephone solicitors working for the Conservative party are again identifying themselves to people around the country with the generic-sounding name “Voter Outreach Centre” in calls to potential supporters. The name might confuse some voters, but the calls, which originate with IMKT Direct Solutions, the phone-bank company that makes voter-identification and get-out-the-vote calls for the Conservative party, appear to be compliant with CRTC rules because they also refer to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and/or the Conservative party. IMKT Direct Solutions registered the name Voter Outreach Centre in February 2011, and it was used in calls made in the 2011 election campaign.

What are they smoking?

* The politics of pot: Are the Tories offside with Canadians? For two years, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have hoped to boost their re-election chances in part by convincing Canadians that Justin Trudeau will put marijuana joints into the hands of their children. On Tuesday, Harper made his move with tough talk about the need to continue the war on pot. But the Conservative leader may soon find he is on the wrong side of the issue. His approach runs counter to what Canadians themselves appear to want.

Et tu, Sovereigntiste?

* FTQ turns its back on Bloc, throws support to NDP. Quebec’s left-leaning, pro-sovereigntist labour federation has dropped its long-standing endorsement of the Bloc Québécois and some of its member unions are supporting the NDP. Quebec’s FTQ federation is heavily involved in politics; it covers 37 labour unions and counts 600,000 members. The federation, which includes 37 labour unions and counts 600,000 members, is heavily involved in politics and has officially endorsed the Bloc in almost every federal election since the early ’990s.

* Former Liberal Scott Andrews to run as an Independent in Avalon, N.L. riding. Scott Andrews, a former Liberal MP in Newfoundland and Labrador who was forced to leave the party caucus by party leader Justin Trudeau after being accused of sexual harassment by an unnamed NDP MP, will run in the federal election as an Independent candidate in Avalon. In announcing his intentions, Andrews refused to discuss the sexual harassment allegation beyond noting the allegation has never been substantiated. Earlier, in a letter to constituents, Andrews accused Trudeau of “unprofessional” actions that he said stripped him of his right to fair process and defence.

A political dragon-slayer

* B.C. candidate’s campaign video bursting with dragons, robots, lasers. It’s easily the campaign’s most computer graphics-filled video: Dragons, a giant Canada goose and a towering space robot. And according to independent candidate Wyatt Scott, it all started with a solemn vow to defy the alleged “shenanigans” of the local Liberal Party. The one-minute video entitled “I’m running for Parliament!” features the B.C. candidate riding a Canada goose and stabbing a dragon in the head with a broadsword. What next? Tom Mulcair hand-in-hand with Yoda? Stephen Harper getting an endorsement from Obi-Wan Kenobi (or would that be Darth Vader)? Justin Trudeau rallying the Ewoks?

Riding profile

* Ottawa South: Battling the Liberal stronghold. Since its creation in 1988, Ottawa South has been a Liberal stronghold, held first by former cabinet minister John Manley and for the past four elections by David McGuinty, a member of one of Ottawa’s most powerful political families (and brother of former premier Dalton McGuinty). It is economically and culturally diverse, with the neighbourhoods of Elmvale Acres and Banff-Ledbury contrasting with the more affluent Alta Vista and Hunt Club communities. Do any of the four challengers — Conservative Dev Balkissoon, the Green Party’s John Redins, Libertarian Damien Wilson, or NDP candidate George Brown — and any hope of knocking off Liberal incumbent David McGuinty.

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